Navy Littoral Combat Ship Still Missing Cruise Missile Nine Months After Launching One
The Navy has touted the addition of Naval Strike Missiles as a game-changer for the oft-maligned Littoral Combat Ships.
By Joseph TrevithickJuly 3, 2020
The War Zone
On Oct. 1, 2019, the Independence class Littoral Combat Ship USS Gabrielle Giffords fired a stealthy RGM-184A Naval Strike Missile at the ex-USS Ford, a decommissioned Oliver Hazard Perry class frigate, as part of sinking exercise, or SINKEX, off Guam. Since then, the ship has continued to ply the waters of the Western Pacific, with the U.S. Navy recently highlighting her presence in the hotly contested South China Sea as an important signal to China, as well as a demonstration of America's commitment to its allies and partners in the region.
However, official pictures have also consistently shown that, after more than nine months, the forward-deployed Gabrielle Giffords has still not loaded a fresh launch canister in place of the one it expended last year and has been operating with seven RGM-184As ready to fire, rather than a full load of eight.
https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/34579/littoral-combat-ship-still-short-a-cruise-missile-nine-months-after-firing-one-off
